Miracles Happen... and David is Proof!!!
David's story is about a Heroic little boy who has managed to inspire the world with his strength, courage, and smile. His journey can remind us all to remain faithful, hopeful, believe, and Smile!
I share our journey openly. It is real, raw, and uncut, and although I share our faith, miracles, and blessing, I also honestly share the ugly truth about what parenting a child with special needs sometimes entails.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

So much for my weekly updates!!!! I did not anticipate another hectic semester when I set that goal. Lol So although I have managed to blog I have not found time to input my entries =)

Well a lot has happened since my last entry. For Christmas I was blessed with 5 little ones and a staff infection that landed me in the hospital for over a week.

Where do I begin…

A little background information on my new additions. I actually got temporary guardianship of their mother 7 years ago when she was 13 and had just given birth to her youngest. She was one of the kiddos I was mentoring with a Youth Intervention program I volunteered for and when her mother threw her on the streets I was who she called. Her father signed over temporary rights and I had her and her young son for almost 9 months. In those 9 months I got her in school, and headed in the right direction. When I realized her stay with me was going to be longer than I originally anticipated I applied for benefits and once her mother found out that meant she could not longer receive cash assistance for a child she was not even caring for she began to fight to get her back.

After trying everything in my power to keep her I was forced to return her to the same bad environment I tried to rescue her from.

Shortly after her mother shipped her off (at 14) to live with her 15 year old boy friend and they went on to have 4 more children (totaling 5) by the age of 19. Both the mother and father have been in jail and the children have been bounced around from one bad environment to another. More recently the children were living with mom and her mother in a small run down 2 bedroom home with 3 adults and 8 children. The mother has been asking for my help with the kids for the last year but I wasn’t sure how I could do it on my own.

On December 23 I got a phone call that forever changed our lives. From my understanding the grandmother who is a meth user attacked one of the 5 year old twins. She grabbed her by the hair and pulled her off the couch saying “you’re a dog and pets do not belong on the furniture” the mother of the children came to her daughter’s defense and pushed grandma off her daughter and then they got into a physical altercation (all in front of the children).

The police were called and the grandmother threw the kids and their mother out of the house leaving them homeless and traumatized 2 days before Christmas. I did not want them to go to CPS custody or be separated so I have had them ever since.

All of the children have abandonment issues, and some behavior and emotional issue due to what they have seen and experienced in their young years. I am hoping to provide them the love and stability that they need and deserve but that their mother is just not equipped to provide for them at this time. This would be an impossible task alone but perfect strangers have come along side us and supported us on this journey which has made it so much easier for me and for that I am forever grateful (and so are these innocent babies who have endured for too much pain and suffering)

I know God has heard my prayers and concerns and I know he will continue to carry us through.

12/24/10 I must have made the naughty list! So it is Christmas eve and I am on my way to the hospital because I have a cyst in the middle of my face which has me so swollen I can barley open my eyes. In addition I got a call last night from my foster daughter & the police and in an attempt to keep the children out of the system I now have five additional children. Merry Christmas to me. =) Santa and I really need to talk!

12/24/10 Round 2! I'm @ the ER w one of my new additions 4 respitory distress! Hope we get out n time 2 get stockings stuffed and presents out!

12/25/10 Round 3! I'm being admitted 2 the hospital 4 the abscess on my face. They think I might possibly have a staff infection. Please pray 4 us

12/27/10 The doctors just confirmed that this painful, ugly, golf ball sized abscess on my face is a Staph Infection. Looks like my stay in the hospital will be extended. The doctors are concerned that the infection is so close to my brain and sinus cavities and are keeping me on IV antibiotics so that the infection does not get into my blood.

Cultures are in and the type of Staph infection I have is MRSA (the worse type to get of course) I am trying to stay positive here but being stuck in the hospital and not seeing David for 4 days now is getting to me!

1/14/11 For the last few days it has seemed impossible to get one of the twins to sleep! (it takes hours) She is notorious for getting into treats and was caught eating something last night but would not fess up what it was. While searching for sippy cups for dinner I found a box of mints under her pillow (energy mints filled with caffeine ;) that explained it all

1/20/11 Laundry, laundry, and more laundry! How will I ever get my chores done with a 2 yr old attached to my hip and 3 other little ones fighting over everything? OMG I am loosing my mind and I still have to get to school for a 5 hr class! Wish me luck I can tell already it is going to be a looooong day! Oh did I mention David had a seizure yesterday and my car battery went out leaving me stranded ;)

1/22/11 So my 3 year old just broke my second pair of glasses this week! She says she doesn’t know why????? When I reprimanded her for it she told me that she hated me, David, and Uncle Jeff. What am I going to do with her? Any advice on how to manage a destructive 3 year old? We need and intervention!!!

1/26/11 I have spent the last week cleaning boogers, vomit, and diarrhea and between all 6 kids it has been a full time job. I have washed all the bedding at least 3 times due to vomit and poop mishaps and after a long day I picked up the kids from daycare to be notified that they all have Lice. OMG I hate bugs

1/28/11 My goal today is to put one foot in front of the other and keep on moving forward. Life as I know it has changed and transitioning into being a mommy of 6 is a work in progress but, despite the runny noses, coughs, and even the lice I blessed to be at a place in my life that I have the opportunity to give these precious kids a life they could not have otherwise.

1/29/11 Just when I am feeling overwhelmed or that I am not strong enough to do this on my own, God gently reminds me that I am not alone and that he is and always will be my strength. That moment is quickly followed by the kids say something adorable that makes me smile and helps me keep on going! =)

2/08/11 Last week it was lice, this week it is pink eye and the flu, my goal today is to squeeze in 5 doctor appointments and homework. Did I mention I am also sick! Ugggg I feel like my house has been hit with the plague.